Political Order
In the history of man and his pursuit of power, there are various lines which enemies drew upon each other as they seek to make their points stand out. The twentieth century remains one of the most historic times for the end of major wars between men, paving the way for the future movements, rules, and guidelines. Political power among major nations led to the beginning of World War I and II, which led to the death of millions of people, leaving some of the nation’s poorer than before. One might argue out that these wars were unnecessary due to their final outcomes, but they helped shape the current political order. The research looks into the changes in political order while citing some of the historic moments.
The beginning of civilization in Ancient Greece brought about rules and laws which govern a nation and its government. Moreover, it brought about class among people, whereby each role played by an individual played a major part in the nation’s overall growth. Hence, the political order at the time was uniform as it helped Greece as a nation to grow and expand its boundaries. However, it put the other nations at a disadvantage as they had to rely on Greek’s way of life to rule their nations. The western nations were not in support of some of their practices, spiking a rebellion against their rule. Such instances brought about the various distinctions of political order, where each nation stood for what they thought was right.
Political orders became a major issue as time went by with various nations picking on another and trying to overrule their current regime. Such battles brought about the hunger of ruling by men, where they diminished each other to slaves. Being the first in colonization, the Ancient Greece took advantage of its position to overrule the nations surrounding it, enslaving some of its people for their selfish purposes. With time, the slave trade became a norm with western countries reaching out to the Eastern countries and Africa for slaves. With time, political order evolved to nations hiding their true colors in a bid to win over people and imitate a form acceptable to the society. However, the origin of political order lacks a justifiable time zone as several events overlay each other.
Francis Fukuyama spent a great deal of his life trying to define the politics; its order and decay. His research on the work led to the distinction of two various time zones that show the evolution of politics. However, the paper focuses on his first book, which discusses the evolution of politics from the prehuman times, when civilization was slowly creeping into the world, to the French revolution. According to him, political order in a nation falls under three pillars: the state’s subordination to the rule of law, government’s accountability to its citizens and a capable state. These structures define the nation’s sole purpose of its existence, as illustrated by Ancient Greece. In its initial steps of creating its nations, the philosophers and scholars helped build the rules and laws to govern the country. Moreover, its people were in a position to sustain the current economic times, and their major need was to expand its horizons. Finally, its diversification in art and architecture played a major part in building its structures.
Peter Frankopan provides a similar analogy but in a different context in elaborating his perspective on political order. In his book, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World. Frankopan uses religion to define the changing times of political orders. Being of a Byzantine specialist, his focus on West and Central Asia opens him up to the Islam religion and how it blends in with other religions. The early religions such as Early Islam and Christianity had strict rules towards its society, such as the favors, punishments, and blessings one would receive from God. Moreover, the worshipping of idols was a major offense in these religions, as they upheld their God’s name and the image above all. Similarly, capitalism and communism began in the same statute. The early political times dwelt upon improving the lives of people and making a difference in the society.
Frankopan points out the laxity in modern religion, where selfishness and greed take center stage. Islam and Christianity stand divided when it comes to making a common decision. Each religion wishes to stand out than the other. Previously, Muslim and Christians lived in harmony, with each member respecting and appreciating their counterparts’ religious value. A major surprise as noted by Frankopan was the good relationship between Muslims and Jews as they had mutual interests and objectives. The need to seek out individual’s thoughts, preferences, and motives bring down the unity among religions. Similarly, the political unity among nations breaks down upon the entry of greed and selfishness.
My Own Brief Assessment/Critique of the Two Authors' Claims for Prompt One
Globalization
Globalization has been a positive process over the past two centuries despite having a few issues. Just like trade, globalization helps in the exchanges of goods, currency, and skills. Globalization comes from the need of different nations to create an equilibrium, which will help them exchange goods, services, and culture among other things. In the process, the hosts take up bits of their foreigner’s ways of life, improving their culture. Over the past two centuries, globalization continues to grow due to the global need of creating an equal market for world traders to meet and share their goods. Apart from that, it helps in international relations among various nations, making a swift transition of their people from one country to another.
One of the major benefits of globalization is the exchange of culture due to exploration and colonization among others. In the early 19th century, great travelers and explorers were the initial people to bring about globalization as they interacted with various cultures. Western explorer who visited Asian countries traded their items such as knives and blades for spices in the Asian countries. India was one of the major benefactors of globalization as it received various items in exchange for their spices. In a positive way, its citizens were in a position to improve their lives by learning new techniques such as medicinal practices from the Western countries.
In modern times, globalization increased significantly due to the good international relations amongst countries. The push to have a common world market by major countries helped unify the nations as one and improve the lives of each participating country. Moreover, technology played a major part in globalization. Its continued use and integration into the lives of people changes the way people conduct their business and activities. Technology comes from the Western culture, and they use it to sell their cultural practices such as clothes, music, and way of life. Their culture targets the young generation as they can easily adjust to the changing times. Moreover, they believe the Western culture supersedes theirs, as it is the current fashion. In the end, most of the young people begin emulating most of these practices, influencing other peers and slowly making it a norm in various cultures.
Fukuyama explores the subject of democracy further by introducing its two perspectives; the hosts and its visitors. In most situations, the host took its time in ensuring proper balance in their democratic ways, which include the rule of law, the state, and accountability. The Americans focuses more on the accountability, which leads to them building their system of balances and checks to provide formidable governance. Its result as described by Fukuyama is democracy, whereby small interests groups block the measures in realizing a common good. With such a structure, the Americans export their way of governance to other countries, which end up failing, as the new system does not work well with their intended needs.
Some of the major flaws in globalization are the adoption of a system that does not work well with the culture. In such instances, the host country lacks proper means or timing in executing the new culture. In the case of American democracy, the lack of prosperity in nations that adopt the system is timing. It is quite crucial to understanding the time taken by America to make its laws and the challenges the new culture would undergo to transition into the system. However, the host country overlooks such simple measures under the assumption that it will work out for them as it did for the host country. In the end, there is a power vacuum in the top ranks, bringing about the conflict to those aiming to outdo the other party for it.
Despite the negative flaws of globalization, it stands out as one major influence on the current smooth trade and relations between countries. It would be hard to ignore how far cultures changed over the years for the better. Moreover, it helps the host countries to export their culture as well as provide opportunities for its citizens to work in other regions. Globalization plays a major role in the world peace and relations as it helps the creation of a common mode of communication. What makes it great is the opportunities it harbors for the host and foreign nations in becoming one. However, one cannot ignore the selfish thoughts and motives some countries have over others. In the end, most of the countries end up having a common relation amongst each other.
Bibliography
Frankopan, Peter. 2015. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Fukuyama, Francis. 2011. Political Order and Political Decay: From PreHuman Times to the French Revolution. London: Profile Books.
Fukuyama, Francis. 2014. Political Order and Political Decay: The Origins of Political Order. London: Profile Books.
